Inkblot Stories
by P-Code
Summary: Kennie, Brine, Yuna, Beck, and Kishi are all common students at Inkblot Art Academy. These stories are about the very common things that happen at Inkblot. Check back soon for more stories!
1. Concert Freakout

On a warm Thursday night, Yuna sat on a pillow in her friends' dorm, eating from a box of Coreos in the middle. Crumbs fell from her hands and mouth onto her Octo Zeppelin shirt and loose pajama pants. She was an Inkling with long orange tentacles that had yellow spots on the ends. Her friend, Kennie, who happened to be the only Octoling in her closest friend group, stood next to her bed and kept taking out, holding up, inspecting, and putting away clothes. Her short, gray and aqua tentacles were on the top of her head and on the sides of her face.

That week, Inkblot Art Academy was holding the annual Musinkfest, a music festival in which bands from Inkopolis came to perform. On Monday, Wet Floor came to perform. On Tuesday, it was the Squid Squad who performed and on Wednesday, the Bottom Feeders performed. Finally, on Thursday, the Squid Sisters performed. The next day, Off the Hook would mark the end of Musinkfest.

"If you make a mess, you're cleaning it up," said Kishi, opening the door to the dorm. Kishi was a short Inkling girl who had short coral tentacles with salmon pink spots. She had just changed into her pajamas, and held her uniform on one arm. She walked around Yuna and the Coreos, to her chest of drawers and put away her uniform.

"Unless Kennie steps on them from being so distracted," replied Yuna. "She won't even eat these, and Coreos are her favorite snack."

"Oh yeah, relax Kennie. Only your favorite rap and electropop duo is going to perform live, Kennie," said Kishi.

Kennie ignored her, and said, "I can't decide with this leather jacket and turquoise skirt, or this Inkblot sweater with denim shorts. But I'm definitely wearing my favorite white sneakers." She was looking at all the clothes laid out on her bed. On the side of her bed, she had taped on the wall about a hundred photos of Marina of Off the Hook.

"You really want Marina to be your girlfriend? She probably has her eye on Pearl already," teased Yuna. "I bet she'd like your leather jacket."

Kennie blushed without saying anything, then put her outfits on top of her dresser. She sat down on her bed and reached over to grab a Coreo. "Can you stay with us tonight, Yuna?"

"Well, if that's okay with Kishi..."

"Go ahead," said Kishi, smiling. "I like it when you stay here."

"Cool, then I'm staying," said Yuna. "I'll just have to hang my Squid Sisters poster tomorrow. I like where you two put it, right next to the window. I think I'll put mine there."

"How was the Musinkfest finale last year?" Kishi asked Yuna.

"Well, last year when the Squid Sisters did the finale, and they tossed out lots of merch into the audience. It was a way bigger celebration than any of the earlier concerts—more confetti, more lights, more everything. Their ending with the Calamari Inkantation was a smash."

"You bought the backstage pass last year too, right?" asked Kennie.

"Oh my gosh, yes! They're sooo cool to talk to!"

"Calm down a bit," said Kishi. "They're going to hear you in the other dorms."

"Okay, okay... I'll start getting ready for bed. I shouldn't even be eating this late."

Eight o'clock, Friday night. Kennie was the first one out, practically dragging Kishi and Yuna out with her. Kennie was wearing a leather jacket, denim shorts, and white sneakers. Yuna and Kishi stood next to her in front of the stage, wearing hoodies and jeans.

In the crowds of squids and octopi, Yuna saw Beck's short, highlighter green tentacles. Beck had a Splatfest shirt and cargo pants on. Next to him, Brine was walking carefully, trying not to bump into anyone. Unlike Beck, Brine's hair was ultramarine and had two dark blue-tipped and light blue-spotted tentacles on the top of his head, held by a hair band. Brine wore a light blue sports jacket and black shorts. After looking around for a few moments, Beck saw Yuna waving her hands and pointed her out to Brine. Brine and Beck made their way through the crowd towards Yuna, Kishi, and Kennie.

"Are you guys hyped for the finale?" shouted Beck.

Before Kennie could finish responding "oh yeah!" he interrupted with "I'm so hyped! This week was awesome!"

"Thanks for coming early and grabbing the best spots for us!" said Brine.

"It's thanks to Kennie here," said Yuna.

Two microphone stands, connected to the large speakers on the side, were at the front of the stage. Marina's DJ set and a smaller microphone were at the back, on top of a pedestal, and wasn't connected to any speakers. The stage was surrounded by sculptures made long ago by graduates of the academy depicting squids in different positions.

Brine nudged Kishi, who stood next to him, and asked her, "Do DJs actually do anything during concerts?" Kishi shrugged and said, "Maybe."

A few minutes later, the lead organizer of Musinkfest, Professor Clambell, walked onto the stage and took a microphone. He was a tall, pale Inkling with a light blue bowl cut, wearing the Inkblot Art Academy Musinkfest shirt that was given out at the first concert of the festival. "Thank you all for attending this year's Musinkfest," began his speech. "Thank you to those of you who put in hard work and countless hours of your time to organizing this." He went on to thank everyone who contributed and the significance of Musinkfest. He concluded with "And now, please welcome our last band of the week, Off the Hook!"

As Clambell walked off the stage, a pink spotlight focused on Pearl, an Inkling with short, cream and pink tentacles, and the audience cheered and clapped. The jewels on her crown shined under the stage lights, while she ran towards her microphone. Then a green spotlight came on and followed Marina, an Octoling with long plum brown and teal tentacles wearing headphones and a bandana, who walked steadily and briskly towards her DJ set, met by even more cheers and applause from the audience.

"Y'ALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!" yelled Pearl, pointing around at the crowd.

"It's Off the Hook, coming at you LIVE from Inkblot Art Academy!" announced Marina.

Marina flicked on a switch on her set and the music of "Fly Octo Fly" boomed through the speakers. Marina began singing "Keep your wits about, no don't lose your head..." while Pearl danced back and forth on the stage. Marina looked at Pearl, with an expression that was hard to tell if she was worried or concentrated.

Kennie sang along to every word, jumping and waving her hands. The entire audience sang "Whoah oh oh, oh waaaohhh oh!"

Pearl began singing, much louder than Marina "You may think our kind's not worthy of life, but we won't go down without a fierce fight!" Kishi flinched as soon as Pearl started singing.

A few minutes later, with a turn on a turntable and turning up some sliders, Marina transitioned to the instrumental for "Ebb and Flow". Pearl sounded slightly off-key on some lines. At one point, Pearl even tripped over her own feet while dancing energetically.

Marina then transitioned to "Acid Hues" and jumped off the pedestal to join Pearl at the front of the stage. At that moment, Pearl pointed to everyone at the front of the stage and yelled "MOSH PIIIIT!"

"AWWW YEAH!" yelled Yuna, while jumping and flailing her arms along with Kennie and Beck. Kishi grabbed Brine's hand and the two fled away from the mosh pit.

The last thing Kishi and Brine heard before leaving the concert was Pearl yelling "STAGE DIVE!"

The next morning, on Saturday, Yuna, Kennie, and Beck were still in pajamas, and they sat in the sofas of the dorm floor's common room. They were laughing as they talked about last night's concert. Kishi and Brine brought back some breakfast sandwiches for them.

"So, what exactly happened last night?" asked Brine.

"You're not going to believe this," said Beck. "So after Pearl jumped into the crowd, the mosh pit got so wild that a bunch of sculptures got knocked down and broken. Security had to stop the concert and talk to everyone who was in the mosh pit, and also Pearl and Marina. Now we all have to pay a bunch of money for reparations."

Yuna also added: "Pearl's crazy. Marina said they briefly visited a party in someone's dorm room right before the concert."

"Oh yeah," said Beck. "You know what Marina said? It was something like, 'I don't think what they were serving was fruit punch after all because Pearl had a sip of it and started acting up, but I thought she'd be okay enough to perform.'"

"Poor Marina, she had to apologize for Pearl," said Yuna.

"Oh gosh," gasped Kishi, as her eyebrows raised. "I hope Pearl's okay now."

"She's probably fine," Beck reassured.

Kennie, who had been grinning the whole time, sat up and said, "Before they had to leave, I got Marina and Pearl to sign my shoes! I can't believe it. Marina looks so hot in person and I actually got to talk to her!" She was shaking her hands so much that her breakfast sandwich slipped out of her right hand and barely caught it before it could fall on the floor.

"Tell me about it," said Brine, who was used to Kennie fangirling about Marina.

"Let's go work at Grizzco's after breakfast. We need the money," said Beck.

"But I'm tired," groaned Yuna. She took a bite of her breakfast sandwich.

"You did what you did," said Kishi with a shrug. She and Brine looked at each other with smug smiles. 


	2. Follow the Leader

Brine burst into the common room, and said, out of breath, "Here it is!" He held up a game case for Beck, Yuna, Kishi, and Kennie to see. "Follow the Leader 4!"

"Whoa dude," said Beck through a mouthful of noodles. "Super fresh!" Yuna nodded in agreement.

"Can we play after dinner?" asked Kishi.

"Sure!" said Brine. "But we'll take turns since our dorm is not that big." He sat down on a sofa next to Kishi and set down the case and the opened package on the floor. He picked up his box of noodles and chopsticks.

"Wait," said Kennie shyly. "I've heard of Follow the Leader and knew it had something to do with music but ... what's the game about?"

Kishi explained, "Follow the Leader is a motion-based dance game series developed and published by Gobysoft. Each game includes a collection of songs each with its own dance choreography. One or more players mirror a dancer shown on the screen, follow commands that appear on the screen, and are scored based on accuracy—"

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down there Squidipedia," said Beck, cutting off a now embarrassed Kishi.

"Oh yeah, Yuna," said Brine. "They added a decent collection of rock songs this time. I think you'll love it."

"I have to play this game," said Yuna leaning forward in her seat and pumping her fists.

"How many more of these Follow the Leader games are they going to make?" asked Beck.

"A lot more, I hope," said Brine.

"Well, then I bet they'll have to start naming the games with years," joked Beck.

After dinner, in Brine and Beck's dorm, Brine turned on his small TV and put the game disc in his console. Beck sat on his bed with Yuna while Kishi and Kennie sat on Brine's bed, looking at the screen with awe. "You're lucky to have a TV in your dorm. The portable version of the console doesn't support Follow the Leader," said Kishi.

"But the effort it took to get it in here, holy mackerel," groaned Brine. "Beck, remember when you tripped on the stairs and nearly cracked the TV screen? My toes were bruised for a week!"

"There was a fly on my nose, okay?" said Beck.

Once the game started up, Brine looked through the songs in the game. "Which song should I do first?" he asked.

"Ooh, you should do 'Rip Entry'!" said Yuna. Beck and Kishi agreed while Kennie said she wanted to see an Off the Hook song. "We'll all have turns, so you can choose whichever song you want on your turn," said Brine. He chose "Rip Entry" and waited for the game to load.

A faceless inkling boy with short orange tentacles on his head appeared on the screen. He wore a solid purple jacket, solid black pants, and solid blue shoes. His left hand was colored orange, showing that the controller had to be in the player's right hand.

"I hope I've still got the moves," said Brine, smiling as he watched the screen, waiting for the dancer to start.

Once the music started, Brine mirrored every move the dancer did. "Good" and "Fresh!" appeared in a corner of the screen after every move. "Wow," said Beck, his eyes widening. "It looks like you do got it."

After both Kishi and Kennie had a turn, Yuna suddenly said, "Guys, I have an idea."

"Oh?" said Brine.

"What if we start a Follow the Leader club?"

Everyone looked at each other for a moment, until finally, Brine said, "Let's do it." Everyone else nodded and said, "yeah!";

"But how do you start a club?" asked Kennie.

"I think you have to gather some people who are interested first and then talk to the Office of Student Life," Beck responded, putting a finger on his chin.

"Well, let's all finish playing first," said Yuna. "I've been waiting so long to have a turn."

"Hey, you!" Brine said to an unsuspecting Inkling boy who was walking in the courtyard. He turned around to face Brine with raised eyebrows. "Do you like dancing?" asked Brine.

"Uh... I guess?" said the boy, tilting his head.

"Do you like video games?" asked Brine.

"Well, I play a few, yeah..." the boy said.

"Then you'll like Follow the Leader club!" Brine said energetically while thrusting a flyer into the boy's hands. "Join us in Studio D347 to dance the night away!"

Yuna chimed in, stretching out her arms in a pose, and said, "We have free food, too!"

"Uh, okay..." said the boy, furrowing his eyebrows and walking away with the flyer.

Kennie, who was sitting at the information table behind Brine and Yuna, sighed and rolled her eyes. "I think you two are just scaring people away." The table had a sign taped on it with the Follow the Leader logo printed, and text underneath that said "Club". To the right of Kennie, there was a pile of flyers that Beck had printed off, and to the left, there was a pile of lollipops that Yuna bought at a bargain store, for passersby to take.

"I thought people liked free food..." said Yuna pensively.

"I think Kishi made the right decision to work on her project in the studio instead," joked Kennie. "And I don't even want to imagine what Beck would do if he was here. I think Beck's helping her or something."

A tall green Octoling girl wearing glasses stopped by the table, in front of Yuna and Brine. "Oh hey," Brine said. "Are you interested in joining Follow the Leader Club?"

"Yeah, I love Follow the Leader! When's the first meeting?" she asked.

"Next week in Studio D137," answered Yuna, who had also turned around. "Here, have a flyer."

"Wait, is D137 that abandoned dance studio near those storage rooms?" asked the girl.

"Yes, yes it is," said Brine bluntly.

"But we're remodeling it! And it'll be all ready by next week!" said Yuna cheerfully.

"Oh... Okay. I'll see you all next week, then!" said the girl.

"Score!" cheered Yuna, pumping down her fist.

On the day of the first meeting, the five members of the Follow the Leader Board of Advisors showed up to the abandoned dance studio an hour early. Beck plugged in the old TV that was in the studio, but when Brine pressed the power button, nothing happened. "Maybe plug it into another outlet?" suggested Brine. Beck moved the plug down to another outlet. Still nothing.

"There's a couple of outlets over here," said Kishi from the other side of the studio.

"Thank goodness this TV is on a wheeled cart," said Beck. He grabbed the cable and put his hands on top of the TV to push it.

"I bet you're really glad about that," remarked Brine.

Beck turned dramatically towards Brine and scowled. "What did you want me to do with the fly, eat it?"

"Better to get some extra protein than smash my toe."

"Oh my cod, you can't be serious."

"You're still arguing about that?" said Yuna. She was in charge of the snacks. She opened a box of mint Coreos on a table.

"Brine started it," whined Beck.

Kennie opened the door to the dance studio and stood outside with a clipboard, to record the attendees' names. "I think it's about time for people to start coming in," she said.

15 minutes passed, and Kennie still stood at the door, waiting. "Kennie, are you getting tired?" asked Yuna. "No one's even coming."

"Come on," groaned Kennie. "Not even that Octo girl who said she would come is showing up?"

"I don't think so," said Brine.

"More food for us, then," said Kishi, with a face full of potato chips. The bowl was already nearly empty.

Another 15 minutes passed. Now Kennie sat at the door, still hopeful, but also falling asleep. Yuna had joined Kishi at the snack table, no longer able to hold back.

"Well, let's just start playing ourselves," said Brine, and he grabbed the controller.

At that moment, the Octoling girl who had shown interest in the club at the courtyard poked her head through the door. "Uh, sorry I'm late, I had so much to do..." she began. She awkwardly tried to push her green tentacles behind her round ears.

Kennie instantly stood up and straightened her academy uniform skirt. She then clicked open her pen and put it on her clipboard. "Welcome," she said, looking up at the newcomer. "What's your name?"

"Meredith," said the girl. Kennie quickly scribbled it onto the sheet of paper. "Come inside, we're just starting!" said Kennie. "I'm Kennie, by the way."

"Are you guys the only ones here?" asked Meredith.

"Yes. Yes we are," said Brine bluntly. "How about you play the first game?"

"Oh, sure!" Meredith said, and she took the blue controller from Brine.

"Who else wants to go first?" Brine asked.

"I would love to go with Meredith," said Kennie, running to grab the red controller from Brine.

"Do you like Off the Hook? We could pick one of their songs," suggested Kennie.

"I love them!" Meredith replied. "I think we should pick.." She moved the stick on her controller to scroll through the list of songs. "Acid Hues," she said, settling on the preview for that song.

"All right," Kennie said.

As the song loaded, Yuna cheered on Kennie and Meredith. "I know you've got the moves, Kennie!" she cheered.

Meredith shot Kennie a smirk. "Well, let's see who's the better dancer," she said. Kennie's eyes widened with shock, but then she accepted the challenge.

Two dancers wearing Marina and Pearl's old outfits appeared on the screen.

Meredith's side of the screen showed mostly "Fresh!" and a few "Good"s, while Kennie's side showed some "Good"s and "Fresh!"s, but quite a few times it showed "Miss". Meredith didn't appear to even be breaking a sweat the whole time—she concentrated on the screen and copied every move smoothly. "How are you so good?" Kennie asked in between breaths.

"I've played Follow the Leader 1, 2, and 3," said Meredith. "But it's my first time playing Follow the Leader 4."

"Wow," said Kennie.

Once the song finished, Meredith was ranked at four and a half stars and Kennie was ranked at three.

"That's really good for your first try," Brine said to Meredith. Everyone nodded and clapped for Meredith and Kennie.

"Who wants to go next?" Brine asked.

"I'll go," said Yuna. "I'll go with you, then," said Beck.

Meredith walked over to the snack table and looked for something to grab. Kennie followed Meredith and started a conversation—"so which year are you in?" she asked.

"Third year," Meredith replied. "And you?"

"First year."

"You're young then."

"Yeah."

Kennie looked around and saw Yuna and Beck dancing to "Buoyant Boogie".

"I wish more people showed up," she said.

"The important thing is that this is fun," said Meredith. "I'll tell my friends to come next meeting."

"You know, you're right. Thanks for coming."

"I'm kidding. This whole club's a joke. You said you had food. I'm sick of noodles."

Meredith proceeded to take a mint Coreo and eat it.


	3. The Lucky Coin

The cool morning breeze passed Brine's pointed ears as he walked towards the Blotsking cafe. This cafe was very close to Inkblot Art Academy, so it saw plenty of art students come in and out throughout the day (this was also where it got its name from, too). Brine had wrapped a gray scarf around his neck, on top of his usual Inkblot uniform, but as he rubbed his arms, he realized he should have also worn something more than the uniform's teal sweater vest and white collared top. On the ground, a shine caught his eye. He stopped and bent down to pick up a gold coin with an arrow on it. "Must be my lucky day," he said to himself.

He slipped the coin into his pocket and pushed open the door to the cafe. There, he ordered two hot chocolates—the second one was for Kishi—and then sat at a table to wait for his friend. While he waited, he took out the coin and moved it to see it shine in the morning sun.

Then he saw Kishi open the door. She was wearing a sporty bobble and a fluffy coat. Her droopy eyes suggested she woke up not long ago. "Good morning," she said to Brine.

"Morning. I ordered a hot chocolate for you already," Brine replied.

"Cool. Thanks, Brine." She pulled out the chair at Brine's table and sat down.

"What's that? A coin?" Kishi asked.

"Yup. A lucky coin."

"What do you do with a lucky coin?"

"Hmm," Brine thought for a moment, focusing on the coin.

He was interrupted by Beck bursting through the cafe door. "Brine! There you are—what are you doing here? Today's crit day! We need to get ready!" he said in a single breath.

"Beck, you gave me a heart attack," Brine said, with wide eyes. "Our class doesn't even start for another two hours. Don't you always have your things ready anyways?"

"Yeah, but I need to _triple_-check. And I don't want what happened _last time_ to happen to you, too!" Beck kept saying loudly.

"What happened last time?" asked Kishi.

"Don't even ask me right now," Beck said.

"Beck, you're going to be fine. Want to join us?" Brine offered.

Beck sighed. "All right. Might as well get some of that mocha I've been craving."

After Beck made his order, he pulled a seat from another table and sat in front of Brine and Kishi. He took off his black jacket and hung it on his seat.

"Kishi and I were wondering something," Brine said.

"Oh?"

"What do you do with a lucky coin?"

Beck looked at the coin in Brine's hands. "Oh uh… I don't know. Flip it? And maybe that helps you make decisions? I don't know, I'm not like, superstitious or anything."

"Me neither, but Brine says it's lucky, so I'll go along with it," said Kishi.

"Brine, Beck—your orders are ready," called out the barista. By this time, more people had trickled into the cafe, a couple with sketchbooks and laptops.

"I'll get them," said Kishi, as she got up. She then returned with three cups and set them onto the table.

"Well, what decision do you want to make?" Brine asked Beck.

"How about this—will you show Kishi what your tentacles look like when they're down?"

Kishi smirked shyly towards Brine.

"Heads for yes, arrows for no," Beck affirmed.

"Brine put the coin on his left thumb and flipped the coin into the air, then caught it on the back of his hand. The coin had landed on the arrow side.

"Not today," he said.

"I've got something," said Kishi. "Will Yuna change her ink color again soon?"

"I think she stopped with that, but you never know," said Brine. "Let's see."

The coin landed on heads.

"She used to do it all the time during our first year even when she wasn't playing Turf War and Ranked Battle," commented Beck.

"Well, it is a lucky coin, right Brine?" Kishi said with a smile.

"Right," Brine said with a wink.

Later that morning, close to noon, Kishi arrived back at her dorm with her portfolio bag for a rest until her afternoon classes. The air smelled of rubbing alcohol; Kishi was already breathing heavily from walking such a long distance to the dorm, so the strong smell didn't help at all. She then remembered that today the dorm hallways were usually sprayed with cleaners and vacuumed. Kishi sneezed and bumped into a doorknob while walking. She heard someone say "bless you!" behind her. She turned around and saw Yuna walking by with headphones on.

"Oh, hi Yuna—I wanted to tell you something," Kishi said.

"What is it?" Yuna replied as she put her headphones around her neck.

"Well… I want to sort of prank Brine," and Kishi explained the conversation she had with Brine at the cafe.

In the evening, Brine, Beck, Kishi, and Kennie gathered in the common room at their usual spots on the sofas. Some other cephalopods sat near them in other sofas. Kennie had made sushi for her friends and put a plate of them on the coffee table that the sofas surrounded. "What do you think? Did I make them right?" Kennie asked.

Brine picked one up with his chopsticks and took a bite. "Of course you did make them right, and they're delicious."

"Yuna would love this," Beck said after trying one. "Say, where is Yuna?"

Kennie shrugged. "Haven't seen her."

"Kishi? Have you seen her?"

"She told me she had a study to finish, so she'd be a little late," Kishi lied. She tried to keep a straight face, but the corners of her mouth slipped up into a smirk. Beck noticed and stared at her for longer than usual. "Okay then," Beck said, sounding unconvinced.

"Hey, guys!" Yuna called out from the door to the common room. "Sorry for being late!" A few people's heads turned at the sight of Yuna. The ends of her tentacles, instead of being a deep orange, were now purple. The yellow spots still showed, but now looked like they had a slightly lime green tinge.

Beck and Brine stood up to get a closer look. "Yuna! Your tentacles!" Brine gasped.

"No way…" Beck said. His mouth was wide open.

Yuna walked over and took a seat on the sofa, next to Kishi. "So where's your lucky coin, Brine?" Yuna asked with a chuckle. Kishi burst out laughing and bent over, holding her stomach. Kennie also giggled, just from watching Kishi.

"Well, this sure brings back memories," Brine said, with a smile.

"Like what?" asked Kennie.

"We never told you the reason why I stopped changing my ink color outside of battles, did we?" said Yuna.

Brine reached into the pocket of his gray uniform pants and took out the lucky coin. "Heads you tell the story, arrows I do."

The coin landed on heads.

"Well," Yuna said. "One time I changed my ink to pink and blue…"

First-year Yuna, with half-pink-half-blue tentacles, tip-toed to a bathroom with her roommate, Bianca. Bianca had changed her ink color from its natural white to entirely black.

"This one's empty, let's go," whispered Bianca.

"Oh boy, I feel like I'm in high school again," whispered Yuna with a smile.

Bianca took Yuna by the hand to the biggest stall at the end of the bathroom and locked it behind them. Yuna smelled something sweet and sugary, but then also smelled something disgusting.

"Well, that sure ruins it…" said Yuna disappointedly. "Oh well, I need it anyway."

"Shh, do you hear something?" Bianca whispered, putting a finger on Yuna's lips.

The sound of keys jangling approached the bathroom and Yuna froze with fear. _So this is why I stopped…_ Yuna thought. Instantly regretting her decision, she told Bianca, "I'll turn into a squid and slip over there."

"No Yuna, your ink—" Bianca said.

By then, Yuna had already crouched and contracted her limbs into her body. She slid across the cold floor about a centimeter, until her body burst.

"Bianca told me afterward that it wasn't an admin who came in the bathroom, but just a normal student who happened to be carrying keys," explained Yuna. "I respawned in the infirmary, luckily with a special respawn point for my natural ink color." The entire group of friends looked at Yuna silently, with wide eyes.

"Wow, I didn't know that happens," finally said Kennie, breaking the awkward silence.

"It's true," said Yuna, "The special substance I used for having two dominant ink colors apparently doesn't work in squid form. I never wanted to do anything like that again after that day. Even though Bianca is still my roommate I barely even talk to her anymore. "

"Well, changing your ink isn't bad, it's when you use weird chemicals on it that screws up your tentacles," said Beck.

"Yeah… I just don't want to risk it, you know?" said Yuna.

"I think you look cool with purple tips," commented Brine.

Kishi disagreed. "I feel like orange and purple are hard to combine."

Yuna smiled and reached towards the coin on the coffee table. "Heads I keep my ink like this, arrows I change it back." She put the coin on her right thumb and flicked it up.

Everyone watched as the coin flipped in the air then rolled onto the coffee table. Arrows.

"Welp, here goes," said Yuna. The ends of her tentacles faded from purple to the red-orange they were before. Her yellow spots looked fully yellow again.

"Who needs a lucky coin, anyway?" said Yuna with a shrug.


	4. Work, Study, Party

Yuna, Beck, and Kennie stepped out of the Deca Tower and into Inkopolis Square. The sun warmed their faces and made them squint slightly.

They turned right into an alley, and towards Grizzco Industries. "This place is exactly how I remembered it, although it used to be a little cleaner," said Yuna, looking at the tall iron bars in front of her, and then up at the bright orange sign that read "Grizzco Industries" with a salmon egg logo. "I did some volunteer work back when Mr. Grizz led some of the first few Salmon Runs. But I haven't heard much about it ever since."

The two Inklings and the Octoling had applied about a week earlier in order to pay for the damages they caused at the Musinkfest concert. Mr. Grizz had called Yuna, the one who submitted their group application, to say they could start training the next day. "But since you're a group of three, you'll be offered a fourth team member for each shift," he said over the phone.

And now, Kennie leaned on the iron bars and tried to peek inside. "Uh," Kennie began. "We're here to start our training, is anyone here?"

A deep, gruff voice said, "Jessa, open the door for them please."

The iron bars slowly separated horizontally. Screens and neon signs on the brown walls lit up the interior. An Inkling woman approached Kennie, Beck, and Yuna as they stepped into the shop. She wore the usual Grizzco work suit—green boots and gloves, orange overalls, and a green and white cap—along with a lifesaver and ink tank on her back. A single purple tentacle was visible on the right of her face, and she had freckles on her cheeks.

"Howdy, welcome to Grizzco's—Yuna? Beck? Is that you?" she said.

"Jessa! It's been a while," said Yuna. "Nice to see you again," said Beck.

"And who's _this_ new friend of yours?" asked Jessa, with raised eyebrows and an open mouth.

Kennie introduced herself: "I'm Kennie. I'm a first-year at Inkblot."

"Well, would ya look at that, another art kid," said Jessa, staring strangely at her. "And an Octo…" Jessa muttered under her breath.

Mr. Grizz, who stood on a stool near the left wall, interrupted the conversation and said to Kennie, Beck, and Yuna, "I'll go over the training manual, and when we're done, Jessa will take you on a training run."

After Mr. Grizz read through the manual and answered the crew's questions, he said, "All right, you squiddos seem like you're ready. Jessa will get your work suits."

Jessa took the cue and said, "All right, I'll go and get them! What sizes do y'all need?"

Beck asked for a large size, while Yuna and Kennie asked for medium sizes.

Again, Kennie noticed Jessa giving her a weird look. Jessa stood in one place for a moment looking at Kennie from top to bottom. She finally said, "I don't know if the suits fit Octos…"

Yuna interjected and stood up for Kennie, "Octolings have the same sizes as Inklings, why would there be a difference?"

"Jessa, please be respectful to all our workers," warned Mr. Grizz, before Jessa could say anything else. "Now please go get their suits."

Once everyone's suits were on, they super-jumped to the Spawning Grounds. They spent the whole afternoon encountering different types of salmonids and collecting eggs. At the end, Kennie had collected the most eggs out of the entire group, even surpassing Jessa.

"Whoa Kennie, you're superfresh," Beck said to Kennie. Yuna was also in awe and congratulated Kennie. "Have you ever done this before?" Yuna asked.

"Nah, just mandatory physical training back at the Valley," said Kennie, referring to her old home. "But it's nothing, really," she said, trying to downplay herself.

Jessa picked up the egg basket to take back to Grizzco and said, "Hey, Yuna, Beck, nice hustle. You guys are great workers."

Beck and Yuna didn't respond with anything—Jessa had ignored everything that Kennie had done. 

Later, back at Inkblot Art Academy, Kennie ambled into her dorm and threw herself onto her bed without saying a word to Kishi. "Are you all right?" Kishi asked. Kennie heard Kishi, but couldn't process anything she said. She was already dozing off to sleep. The sunny noon had turned into a cold evening by the time Kennie finished her training at Grizzco. Thankfully she only had to stay that long because of the training. The rest of the workdays would not take as long.

Kennie had fallen asleep with her pillows sandwiching her head. In her dreams, she could still hear the Calamari Inkantation that set her and her mother free. Wherever the rest of her family was, she hoped that they had heard it too and found better homes. But years ago, after first hearing it, she heard it all the time. Somehow this memory had resurfaced on this Friday night, and she startled herself awake. From between her pillows, she saw light from a screen coming from Kishi's side of the room.

"Kishi?" Kennie whispered.

Kishi looked up from her handheld game console and turned around to see Kennie. "Did I wake you up?" Kishi asked quietly. Kennie replied, "mm-mm".

"And why didn't you change out of your uniform? You'll get germs on your bed."

Kennie threw the pillow that was covering her face onto the floor. "I'm too tired," she said with a yawn that made her eyes water.

"It's not even that late," said Kishi softly, looking at her alarm clock on the nightstand. Kennie saw on the screen of Kishi's console that she was playing a blocky survival game.

"I'm pretty sure 1 am is late," Kennie said.

Kishi looked more closely at her alarm clock. She held it up to her face and squinted at it. "Oh, well look at the time," Kishi said with a slight smile, coming to the realization that she had read the time as different than it actually was. "But if I don't get some downtime, I'm going to lose my mind," she complained, now frowning.

"Go to sleep," Kennie said.

"I'll try," said Kishi.

Kishi pulled the covers of her bed over herself and turned her back to Kennie. Meanwhile, Kennie, now no longer sleepy, lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. Within minutes, Kishi had fallen asleep and was as still as a coral. Kennie still thought about her day at Grizzco. She didn't need to wonder why Jessa had acted differently to Kennie than to Yuna and Beck. Her three years in Inkopolis as an Octoling had taught her that even if most Inklings were carefree and welcoming, some Inklings were suspicious of Octolings.

_But it still doesn't make sense_, Kennie thought. _There are jellies, urchins, and shrimps… and there's even that horseshoe crab Sheldon from Ammo Knights! And just because we come from that crazy Octavio, we Octolings are blamed for it!_

Kennie thought about telling Kishi, but during their whole time as roommates, Kennie felt awkward about the subject.

The next day, Kishi and Kennie walked to their Drawing class together. On most days, Kennie started the conversation, and Kishi, who was otherwise silent, responded to Kennie. But today, not even Kennie wanted to talk. Kishi nervously said, "So… how was work yesterday?"

_Work._ That was exactly what Kennie didn't want to think about. She was dreading her shifts at Grizzco this afternoon. But Kennie simply responded, "It was fine." The conversation ended there as Kishi didn't know what else to say.

As they arrived at their class, a dark-skinned Inkling girl with long, light blue tentacles and mascara around her black eye mask approached the two friends. "Kishi! Kennie!" she said loudly.

"Hi Sophie," said Kishi. Kennie usually didn't talk to Sophie, so she said nothing. Sophie was tall and talked loudly at inappropriate times. She had four long tentacles on her head—two hung beside her head, while the other two were tied together in an updo similar to Callie's from the Squid Sisters.

"Have you heard about the party this weekend?" Sophie said. "You have got to go, you'll have so much fun!"

"Uh… no. I haven't heard," said Kishi.

"It's at the frat house down the street from Blotsking Cafe. Starts at 9 pm. My boyfriend's hosting it. You can bring your friends if you want," explained Sophie.

Kishi looked at Kennie, who gave her the same raised-eyebrow "should we?" look.

"I'll see you there if you decide to go!" said Sophie, and she went to sit at a desk in the studio.

"Sounds fun," said Kennie with a smile. Kennie was relieved that she could finally think about something fun.

Kishi, on the other hand, wasn't fully convinced. She looked down, trying to decide whether to go or not. Kishi didn't want to disappoint Kennie, so she didn't confirm anything yet. As the two friends walked towards their seats together, Kishi asked sheepishly, "Have you ever been to a party?"

"Well, I've been to some birthday parties, but they're nothing much," Kennie replied, while she sat down near Kishi. Kishi also sat down and took out her sketchbook. "I really want to know what college parties are like!" Kennie said cheerfully.

While their Drawing professor talked about techniques and facial proportions that the class had already learned, Kishi wondered the same thing as Kennie. Her mind filled with questions. Kishi remembered that technically she hadn't said yes or no to Sophie's invitation, nor did Sophie seem to care about any confirmation, so she didn't have to go. But she still wanted to give it a try. Then she thought about asking Brine for advice—surely he would know about something like this, being a second-year. And if he could come with her and Kennie, that would make her feel so much more confident.

"...Now, apply the portrait techniques you've learned and sketch the person next to you," said the professor in her soft, cheerful voice. "You have the rest of the class to do it. Get to work!"

Kennie and Kishi looked at each other with a smile. "Oh _carp_, I hope I don't make you look ugly," said Kennie with a giggle.

"I'm sure you won't," said Kishi encouragingly.

The two girls sketched the elliptical shapes of each other's faces. Kennie remembered to look more at Kishi than her sketchbook. She reminded Kishi to do the same. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot," said Kishi, looking up from her sketchbook and looking at Kennie more closely.

"I wish I could start studying digital art already," said Kennie. "It's so much easier to erase and undo digitally. Instead of having to erase and redraw something, I could select it and move it on my tablet."

"You know what they say, you have to learn the rules before you break them," said Kishi.

"What rules would I be breaking?" asked Kennie.

"I don't know, fine arts kids rules?" joked Kishi.

At the end of the class, Kennie and Kishi put the finishing touches on their portraits, then traded sketchbooks to see each other's portrait.

"Sweet! It's so… me!" said Kennie upon seeing what Kishi had drawn.

"This is so good! Great work, Kennie!" said Kishi when she saw Kenne's drawing.

"Nah, yours is better," said Kennie.

Kishi furrowed her eyebrows. "Don't say things like that," she said. "You put yourself down too much. Your art is great. You're really talented."

Kennie blushed and suddenly she felt her eyes tearing up. She wondered how such a small compliment made her react strongly. "Thanks," Kennie said with a small smile. Then she looked away and packed up her materials.

And so, Kishi and Kennie parted ways and started their long walks toward their next classes. Kennie pulled out her cellphone to check her texts. There were new messages in the group chat with her, Kishi, Brine, Beck, and Yuna in it. Brine had texted "meet up at Blotsking later?" Yuna texted "sure, how abt 5 pm?" Brine replied, "sounds good". Beck had also replied with "sure".

Kennie thought about if she had anything to do at that time. Her last class of the day ended long before that, so she would have time to get some work done before meeting up at Blotsking Cafe. Kennie tapped on the message box and typed "ok".

The rest of Kennie's classes of the day were rather dreary without Kishi. At least with Kishi, she could take her mind off the things she didn't want to think about. 

Once 5 pm came around, Kennie entered the cafe. "Hey Kennie!" said Brine, followed by everyone else in the group greeting her. "Hey guys," said Kennie. "I'm gonna go order something."

"I already got something for you," said Beck. "Your favorite Spicy Ocean Latte."

"Wow, thanks!" said Kennie, taking a seat next to Beck, as he handed her the warm cup.

"So you know about the party, don't you?" asked Yuna. "Kishi told us."

"Oh yeah," said Kennie. "You guys want to go with us?"

"Of course!" said Beck.

"Actually," said Yuna, "I knew Sophie's boyfriend in high school. Any party he hosts is guaranteed to be a blast."

Kishi smiled shyly and said, "I'm glad I'll have lots of friends joining me."

"Yeah, it's no problem," reassured Brine, who put a hand on Kishi's shoulder.

Kennie saw at the table next to her a familiar Octoling girl with long green tentacles, wiping the table with a washcloth. She was also humming what sounded like the Calamari Inkantation. But Kennie dismissed it thinking it was just her imagination. "Hi, Meredith!" Kennie called out.

Kishi and Brine, whose chairs were facing the other way, turned around to see Meredith.

"I didn't know you worked here," said Kennie.

"Well, I do," said Meredith, with a tired facial expression. "I'm a busser. It's an easy job, all I have to do is stay alive. But sometimes I can't even do that."

"Say, Meredith," said Yuna, "do you want to come to a party this weekend with us?"

"No way, I've got too many projects and I've got to work at my weekend job.

"Weekend job?" Brine said.

"I work at Shellendorf Institute as a receptionist."

"Oh," said Brine.

Meredith took her washcloth and went through a door that said: "employees only". Then the group resumed chatting about the party and what to wear.

On the night of the party…

Brine stepped up and knocked on the door. The music was so loud, it was audible from outside. A few moments passed, and just as Brine asked the group "Should I knock again?", Sophie opened the door. She was wearing very little clothes: only a black crop top and a pink mini skirt. Brine stepped back in shock and turned his head away to avoid staring.

"COME ON IN!" yelled Sophie. Yuna, Beck, and Kennie walked right in, cheering. Then, Sophie saw Kishi standing behind Brine. "HEY KISHI! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU! YOU'LL HAVE SO MUCH FUN!" Sophie then disappeared into a crowd of partygoers.

Kishi didn't say anything but she stayed close to Brine as the two walked in carefully. Not even a few seconds had passed, and Yuna was busting dance moves left and right as other people cheered and clapped for her. Beck and Kishi looked around, trying to look for food and refreshments. They stopped at a long table with tortilla chips, dipping sauce, fruit punch (which Beck warned Kennie not to drink unless she was in the mood to be completely embarrassed), crab cakes, and Swee-nut sandwiches. "People really eat these sandwiches?" asked Kennie, inspecting the platter of sandwiches. "This butter is basically sugar."

"You do have a point," said Beck with a chuckle. "Good thing the speakers aren't close to the table so we can eat in peace."

"Word," said Kennie. "Where did Yuna go?"

Beck shrugged. "She's probably enjoying herself the most."

The large room was dark except for flashing colored lights hanging from the ceiling and TV showing a music video. Speakers blasted the loud music—the song playing was "Crush" by dedf1sh. People everywhere were spinning, clapping, and waving their arms. There was a DJ sitting in a corner with a laptop connected to the speaker system.

"Y'know," said Brine with a nervous smile, "I don't go to these types of parties often, so—"

"What? I can't hear you," said Kishi.

"WHAT?" yelled Brine.

"I SAID I CAN'T HEAR YOU," Kishi yelled, straining to make her naturally quiet voice louder.

"FORGET IT, LET'S JUST GO DANCE," yelled Brine.

"ALL RIGHT!" yelled Kishi.

Kishi and Brine held hands as the two walked towards Yuna to join her dancing. Brine tried to remember dance moves from the_ Follow the Leader_ games he played. Then he started doing a move that was like a march and a shuffle combined. Kishi copied him, not knowing what else to do. The two looked at each other and laughed as they kept making up dance moves as they went along. "LOOKING GOOD!" Yuna complimented them with a wink and a thumbs up.

Soon after, the song changed to "Fly Octo Fly" by Off the Hook. As soon as Kennie heard this she grabbed Beck by the arm and ran towards where Yuna, Kishi, and Brine were dancing. "Whoa Kennie—" Beck said, but he was cut off with an overjoyed Kennie shouting "OFF THE HOOOOOK!"

"YEAH, GO KENNIE!" exclaimed Yuna. At this point, no one cared about how good their dancing was anymore—all they knew is that they were moving around and enjoying themselves, just as Sophie told Kishi.

Once the song ended, the DJ announced that he would take song requests. Yuna rushed over to his small table, ready to request her favorite but obscure songs. Kennie had also rushed over and tapped Yuna's shoulder. Yuna turned around, understood, and then stepped back.

"Can you play the Spicy Calamari Inkantation?" Kennie politely requested.

A few Octolings who stood behind her broke into an uproar of "YES!" and "I want that song too!"

"All right, all right, I've got it. Spicy Calamari Inkantation it is," said the DJ.

The bass drum beat started playing through the speakers. Then the synths started, and the Squid Sisters' chorus blared through the speakers. The crowds of people in the room cheered and started dancing like the Squid Sisters with their quick arm movements and swinging hips.

Kennie's memories of the day she was freed gradually faded in again with each move she did, and each line from Callie and Marie she heard. Overwhelming, cheerful energy surged through Kennie, and the memories became clear as a mirror. She remembered the feeling of taking off her mind-controlling goggles and feeling like a fog in her mind had cleared.

She hadn't even worn the shades for very long—only a few months. But they were a dreadful few months. Her memories from before that time had slipped away. All she could focus on was her physical training in the Octoling army. The dodging of the ink, the running and swimming with heavy weapons… and above all, DJ Octavio was God. And when her training was done, she'd become stronger and more durable. During that time she had been so numb that she hadn't felt the grief of her father disappearing. She couldn't quite remember where he went, only that his goggles slipped off by accident and she never saw him again.

The funny thing is that the goggles didn't even affect her father that much. It was only thanks to him that Kennie could secretly draw digital art. She didn't know her mother very well until they fled to Inkopolis. For most of her life, her mother was a mindless machine. But once she was freed, her mother could truly know Kennie. Even after Kennie was already in Inkopolis, it took her some time to grasp what had happened.

But the most important thing was that Kennie was free. For the rest of the party, nothing could take away Kennie's euphoria. 

That is until she finally returned to her dorm building.

Brine and Kishi had left earlier than everyone else and gone to sleep. Yuna had made the mistake of drinking the fruit punch, so Beck and Kennie both dragged her into her dorm room while trying not to disturb Yuna's roommate Bianca. Inkblot parties were famous for having fruit punch mixed with non-fruit punch substances.

"I hope she won't be too sick for work tomorrow," said Beck, walking down the dark hallway of the dorm building with Kennie.

"Oh, yeah, work," said Kennie, looking down at the floor.

"What, something wrong?" Beck asked.

"Well…"

"Is it about Jessa?"

Kennie felt her cheeks get hot. "Well… yeah."

"You know, I think Jessa isn't as bad as she seems."

"Are you kidding me? She didn't say a word to me for the whole shift and she kept giving me these weird looks."

"The thing is, older Inklings like her aren't that used to newcomers. For all we know, she might think she isn't doing anything wrong."

"So what should I do?"

"Say something to her about it. So many problems are solved that way."

"You're right, Beck. Thanks."

"It's nothing."

Kennie stopped at her dorm door. "Good night, Beck," she said.

"Night."

The next day, Yuna, Beck, and Kennie stepped out of the Deca Tower and into Inkopolis Square. The sun warmed their faces and made them squint slightly. They turned right into an alley, and towards Grizzco Industries. As soon as Jessa opened the gates for them, Kennie marched straight to Jessa and confronted her. "Jessa, I need to tell you something," said Kennie.

"What is it?" said Jessa.

"I didn't like the way you treated me last week. I felt ignored and discriminated against. I'd like you to think of me as any other worker because I'm not that different from Inklings. I want to show you that you can trust me like anyone else."

Jessa blinked and looked at Kennie with an open mouth. Then she said, "I'm real sorry Kennie. I've been thinking about it, too, and you and I aren't all that different. Call me out if I ever do something like that again, got it?"

Kennie smiled. "Got it."

Beck winked at Kennie as he walked into the shop with Yuna. Kennie followed them, ready to start the day's work. She had slept well knowing how much she enjoyed herself at the party. And now she was going to have fun working at Grizzco with her friends. Those debts were going to be paid in no time.


End file.
